Gaza rescuers say more than 50 killed as Israel orders evacuations

Gaza rescuers say more than 50 killed as Israel orders evacuations

The UN said it collected and begun distributing aid in Gaza

Plumes of smoke rose Thursday over the northern Gaza Strip, where Israel's military urged civilians to evacuate, as rescuers said Israeli strikes across the territory killed more than 50 people.

The latest evacuation warning for parts of Gaza City and neighbouring areas came hours after the United Nations said it had begun distributing around 90 truckloads of aid in Gaza -- the first such delivery since Israel imposed a total blockade on March 2.

The World Food Programme (WFP) later said a "handful of bakeries" had resumed making and distributing bread, while the United Nations said some trucks were "intercepted" by residents.

Under global pressure to lift the blockade and halt a newly expanded offensive, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was open to a "temporary ceasefire", but reaffirmed the military aimed to bring all of Gaza under its control.

In an Arabic-language statement on Thursday, the military said it was acting "with intense force" in 14 areas of the northern Gaza Strip, including parts of Gaza City and the Jabalia refugee camp.

A map posted alongside the warning showed a swath of territory marked in red, with the army accusing "terrorist organisations" of operating there and urging civilians to move south.

The vast majority of Gaza's 2.4 million have been displaced at least once during the war.

After Israel announced it would allow in limited aid, Netanyahu said it was necessary to "avoid a humanitarian crisis in order to preserve our freedom of operational action".

In Gaza, the Hamas government media office reported the arrival of 87 aid trucks.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that "a small number of trucks carrying flour were intercepted by residents and their contents removed".

Dujarric said it "was not a criminal act with armed men", but "what I've been referring to sometimes as self-distribution, which I think only reflects the very high level of anxiety that people in Gaza are feeling not knowing when the next humanitarian delivery will take place".

- 'Hunger and disease' -

Palestinians have been scrambling for basic supplies, with Israel's blockade leading to critical food and medicine shortages.

UN agencies have said that the amount of aid entering Gaza falls far short of what is required to ease the crisis.

Hossam Abu Aida, a 38-year-old displaced Palestinian in Gaza City said: "I am tormented for my children".

"For them, I fear hunger and disease more than I do Israeli bombardment," he told AFP.

AFP footage showed bags of recently delivered flour at a bakery in the central city of Deir el-Balah, where workers and a host of machines began kneading, shaping, baking and packaging stack after stack of pita bread.

"Some aid is finally reaching Gazans in desperate need, but it's moving far too slowly," said WFP executive director Cindy McCain.

"A handful of bakeries in south and central Gaza... have resumed bread production after dozens of trucks were finally able to collect cargo from the Kerem Shalom border crossing and deliver it overnight," the WFP said in a statement.

Israel stepped up its offensive at the weekend, vowing to defeat Gaza's Hamas rulers, whose October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war.

Gaza's civil defence agency reported "52 martyrs" in Israeli air strikes across the territory on Thursday.

AFP footage of northern Gaza showed numerous plumes of smoke rising from the area over the course of the afternoon.

There was no comment from the Israeli military on any strikes on Thursday.

- 'Emboldening Hamas' -

The intensified Israeli offensive has drawn criticism, with EU foreign ministers agreeing on Tuesday to review the bloc's cooperation accord with Israel.

Sweden said it would press the 27-nation European Union to impose sanctions on Israeli ministers, while Britain suspended free-trade negotiations with Israel.

In a joint statement, the leaders of Britain, Canada and France slammed the escalation and the "wholly inadequate" resumption of aid, warning of the possibility of "concrete actions in response".

Netanyahu hit back on Thursday, saying the three leaders "may think that they're advancing peace. They're not. They're emboldening Hamas to continue fighting forever."

Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Gaza's health ministry says at least 3,613 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 53,762, mostly civilians.

During the Hamas attack, militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the Israel military says are dead.

Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel would be ready "if there is an option for a temporary ceasefire to free hostages", noting that at least 20 captives held by Hamas and its allies were still believed to be alive.

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